DELIVERY OF THE LABOUR DISPUTE RESOLUTION PRACTICE PROGRAMME BY PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES

Building Skills to Meet Workplace Challenges

2024 PUBLICITY STATEMENT

1. The CCMA and Bargaining Councils have collaborated with Public Universities to deliver a Programme in Labour Dispute Resolution Practice (LDRP). With 2024 being the tenth year of delivery, this partnership currently involving seven Universities has made excellent progress, with strong student uptake and growing interest experienced. To date the outcomes have been very positive.

2. The Programme is targeted at individuals who wish to enhance their dispute resolution and conflict management skills in industrial relations. This includes human resource officers, trade unionists and legal practitioners. It is also targeted at aspirant CCMA commissioners and Bargaining Council panelists.

3. The aim of the Programme is to empower participants to engage in a knowledgeable and skillful manner more broadly within the labour relations arena when they return to their workplaces after successfully completing the Programme. It also aims to equip participants to participate effectively in the conciliation and arbitration hearing process as a party representative, or as competent conciliators and arbitrators should they successfully apply to be appointed as CCMA Commissioners or Bargaining Council panelists or panelists of an Accredited Agency.

4. The Programme is designed to produce well-rounded practitioners who are not only technically competent, but also have a strong sense of social justice, ethics, and equity values. Flowing from the in-house CCMA Candidate Commissioner Training Programme (the training that is compulsory for newly appointed Commissioners who have not completed the LDRP qualification), it includes training in all core aspects currently offered by the CCMA to Candidate Commissioners.

5. The qualification is delivered as a Post Graduate Diploma (NQF 8) by six of the participating Universities. The University of Stellenbosch and the University of the Witwatersrand offer the LDRP Programme as a certificate programme that is certified by the respective Universities. WITS also offers it as a Post Graduate Diploma. The remaining Universities only offer it as a Post Graduate Diploma.

6. While the LDRP Programme does not provide for direct so-called “accreditation” as a CCMA commissioner or a Bargaining Council panelist or a panelist of an Accredited Agency, it serves as an advantage for those who apply for such positions as and when they are advertised

7.  All short-listed applicants for entry-level Commissioner positions will be required to write a recruitment assessment. This assessment focuses on knowledge and application of key areas of labour law. The required competency mark for the assessment is 60%. In addition, all those who successfully apply to be appointed as CCMA Commissioners, Bargaining Council panelists or panelists of Accredited Agencies will be required to complete an assessment-based Mentorship Programme.

8.  Those LDRP graduates, who qualified with the Post Graduate Diploma qualification or who registered (and then subsequently qualified) for one of the certificate Programmes prior to 2021, whose commissioner applications are successful may apply to be exempted from attending the full eight- module in-house Candidate Commissioner Training Programme. Please see item 9 below for further information on terms and conditions applying to registration and completion of certificate Programmes from 01 January 2021.

9.  The following applies to students who successfully complete one of the LDRP certificate Programmes for which they registered after 1 January 2021:

9.1.  If you successfully complete the recruitment assessment and are subsequently appointed by the CCMA Governing Body as a full-time or part- time commissioner, you may apply to be exempted from attending the in-house eight-module CCMA Candidate Commissioner Training Programme. However, only those who attained an overall mark of 60% or higher may be considered for full exemption from attending the in- house Candidate Commissioner Training Programme. The exemption applications for those who attained less than 60% will be considered in line with the applicant’s competency in particular learning areas as reflected in the course results.

10. Those graduates who wish to apply for Bargaining Council positions are advised to contact the Bargaining Councils directly for their recruitment procedures and for information on the type of positions that may be on offer.

11. The Programme is being delivered by the universities listed below – please take note of the different titles of the qualifications as used by the universities.

12. Queries regarding registration and other details must please be directed to the relevant universities, using the contact details